


Love like Kaleidoscope

by Oreneta



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fairy Tale Elements, Homophobia, I swear it has a happy ending, M/M, Mild Gore, Reincarnation, Suicide, based on an obscure song, wlw author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-22 04:13:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20868002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oreneta/pseuds/Oreneta
Summary: Hydrangeas are calling my nameBring me to a garden I've never seenThere I hear your sirens singFilled me with a feeling I've never knownStaring into my headYour eyes are like kaleidoscopeA prince meets a mysterious traveller, and love blossoms between them. A prince fights his own fate, and suffers at the hands of it.Short fic shamelessly based on "Boys in Kaleidosphere" by Mili





	1. Act 1: Eyes like Kaleidoscope

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a lot for giving baby's first fic a chance! Hope you like it!  
As mentioned previously, it's based off Mili's "Boys in Kaleidosphere" (here's a link, I really recommend it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_k2E2fEwus)  
I took the story elements and interpreted them in a certain way, so song will be spoilers!

_ Hydrangeas are calling my name _

_ Bring me to a garden I've never seen _

_ There I hear your sirens sing _

_ Filled me with a feeling I've never known _

_ Staring into my head _

_ Your eyes are like kaleidoscope _

Once upon a time, there was the Prince of a distant kingdom. The Prince seldom left his castle, too busy with his duties as the heir to the throne. And in the few moments when he had some spare time, he’d read at either his room or the royal gardens, as the diligent prince he was. 

That was until one fateful morning when, enchanted by a beautiful singing voice, he ventured to the park right outside the castle grounds. Sitting in a stone bench, hidden by the blooming hydrangeas, there was a Mysterious Man. He gently strummed the guitar, sung about home far away and adventures far beyond. From his appearance, the Prince could already tell he’d come from a distant land, and that he was quite a traveler. He had wild, chestnut hair, a red coat, and boots worn out by dust and pebbles. 

The Mysterious Man noticed him, and stopped his music. His eyes bore onto the Prince’s, who froze in place. The man’s eyes were also wild, like looking at an eagle in the eyes, but also gentle, like the peaceful clear of a forest. The Prince was hypnotized.

“Howdy.” The Mysterious Man spoke. “Am I interrupting something?”

The Prince could only shake his head and step forward. His tongue weighed heavily, his mouth dried up all of a sudden. The other man simply smiled, and scooted to the side, to make space for the Prince to sit on the bench. Wordlessly, the Prince did so, and the Mysterious Man began to play again.

That day the Prince simply listened and watched, until the sun reached the middle of the sky and his duties pulled him away.

The following morning, the Mysterious Man was playing again, and the Prince sat next to him just like before. But that time the Mysterious Man finished his session early. He set his guitar on the ground and turned towards the Prince.

“May I ask the name of my new fan?” He spoke. 

The Prince found the courage to open his lips, words coming out too shaky for a future king.

“Hanzo.”

The Mysterious Man rose his eyebrows briefly, but then smiled as if that name didn’t carry any weight. As if there were more than one man with that same name in the kingdom.

“Nice to meet'cha. Name’s Jesse.”

“Jesse.” Hanzo mindlessly repeated. Jesse’s smile only grew wider.

“You called?”

That earned a smile from the Prince himself. 

Days passed, and Hanzo always found some moment to sneak back to the garden of hydrangeas. Jesse was always there, usually with his guitar but not always. Those days, they’d talk and got to know each other. Hanzo always kept a secret that he was a prince, and Jesse seemed to have his own secrets, by the way he avoided certain topics. One time, Hanzo asked him why he was so far from home, and Jesse only stared at the horizon in response. He never brought it up again.

One evening, when the sky was colored amber and the sun hiding behind the mountains, Hanzo realized how hard his heart pounded against his chest. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but neither unpleasant or unwelcome. It was only after he’d lied down in bed, about to rest the night away, when he realized what the feeling meant. 

Hanzo had fallen in love with Jesse.


	2. Act 2: Feels like Kaleidoscope

_ After everyone leaves _

_ You take the seat next to me quietly _

_ This pounding in my heart feels like kaleidoscope _

_ Let's escape to somewhere we can be ourselves again _

_ Where happily ever after is not only for queens and kings _

A prince must wed a princess to become a king. It had always been this way, and Hanzo’s case was no exception. It was time for him to find his future queen. 

Many letters reached his hands, many fair ladies came to visit him in person. They offered gifts, behaved with utmost elegance and displayed the most artistic skills. But as beautiful and perfect those girls were, none of them reached Hanzo’s heart. His heart had already been taken away, by a man with wild hair and wilder eyes, with a gentle smile but a fierce sense of adventure. 

The many visits had kept Hanzo away from sneaking back to see Jesse. They had made a silent promise that they’d wait for each other behind the hydrangeas, and Hanzo hoped Jesse understood he wasn’t breaking such promise. The nights alone in his room made Hanzo more lonely than he’d ever been. He had never before needed of company or friendship, unlike his younger brother, who enjoyed an open social life. His younger brother Genji, free from all responsibilities that came with being firstborn.

Right before sneaking away of the castle, a group of armored men came to visit the king. They came from a distant kingdom, chasing after an outlaw. Recent clues had led them to the area, and they asked for permission from the king to arrest the criminal man.

Hanzo couldn’t hide his shock after seeing the sketch the men had of the outlaw. It had the same wild hair, the same crooked nose and gentle smile, though its eyes couldn’t do justice to the real ones. It was Jesse.

“What is it, Hanzo?” The king asked, noticing his son’s reaction. “Have you seen this man?”

“No, father.” He lied. The king squinted his eyes and nodded.

That evening Hanzo was the one waiting for Jesse. He never came. Hanzo went back to his room, defeated. A guard stopped him halfway there.

“Your highness! Are you safe?” He bowed. “The entire castle was looking for you.”

Hanzo cursed to himself.

“Yes. I am safe.” He reassured. “I was simply relaxing in the garden.”

The guard wished him goodnight before leaving the prince alone. The morning after he found that security had tightened around him, always having someone watching over him. After finishing his duties early, Hanzo returned to his room and locked the door. Pretending he was simply reading in private, he jumped out of the window and fled through the garden. He sighed in relief when he saw a familiar silhouette by the stone bench. He was standing up unusually rigid, but Hanzo didn’t care one bit.

“Jesse!”

The man turned around in surprise. He had his guitar along with a ragged backpack hanging from his back.

“Hanzo! I thought you…”

“That I would abandon you after I knew who you are?”

Hanzo stayed a few inches apart from the outlaw, glaring. Despite his lower height, he managed to make Jesse take a step back.

“Yes.” Jesse admitted.

Hanzo closed his eyes for a second, took a deep breath, before speaking again.

“Take me with you.”

“What?”

“I said-”

Jesse placed his hands on Hanzo’s shoulders. 

“I know what you said.” He interrupted. “But you’re a prince. You’re going to inherit a kingdom, be one of the most powerful men on Earth. So why?”

“I will hardly be powerful. I’ve never been and never will be. All my life has been about pleasing others, doing what they expected of me.” Hanzo spoke with fire in his eyes, but Jesse still met them with his own flames. “I want to be free. Just like you.”

“I’m not a free man, darling. I’ve done… terrible things. And now I’m payin’ the price.”

Before Hanzo could reply, footsteps made their way around the park, and hydrangeas were torn to shreds.

“Halt!”

Hanzo was suddenly ripped away from Jesse and surrounded by guards.

“Your highness, stay away from that man!”

Jesse raised his arms. Even in such a situation, with guns, spears and swords aimed at him, he still had that gentle smile.

“Hanzo, I forgot to tell you,” he ventured forward, and the guards stood their ground. “I love you.”

Hanzo dashed forward, shouted the guards to stop. But it was too late.


	3. Act 3: Confusing like Kaleidoscope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big warnings for mild gore and suicide here! 
> 
> Let me know if you need anything else tagged

_ Come here, we must leave _

_ You hurried and took my hand _

_ Jabberwocks opened up their mouth _

_ Muttering words I don't understand _

_ They bit and slashed you open _

_ Cut off your legs your arms your head _

_ This confusing sight feels like kaleidoscope _

Those wide open eyes were now blank. 

“Why are you so distraught, Hanzo?”

An all too familiar voice was suddenly right behind the prince. He tore his tearful eyes away from the blood and ripped flesh in front of him, and turned his head to look at his father.

“Shameful, isn’t it?” The king continued. “To live such a wretched life.”

“Jesse was not like that.” He stated, and then bit his tongue. He shouldn’t have said that.

The king frowned.

“Jesse? So you did know of the man.” 

Hanzo frowned back, trying to regain his composure. He wasn’t succeeding. The king wiped a tear off Hanzo’s cheek.

“What was he to you?” He practically demanded instead of asking. “Is this why you’ve been neglecting all your duties? Rejecting all your suitors?”

“He…” Hanzo stuttered. All around there were eyes judging him. 

His feelings had been wrong, he knew that from day one. Not only because Jesse was a peasant, or an outlaw. Because he was a man. So why did Hanzo embrace such feelings? And why did they feel so right?

“He was nothing to me.” Hanzo lied, and it was like tearing his own heart apart. But the king didn't believe it.

Hanzo was practically dragged back to the castle. They locked him in his room, with guards also standing at the window. Hanzo simply remained in bed, wishing it was all a dream.

He imagined himself now crowned as a king, happily married to his queen. Ruling as his father had expected, as all the other nobles had expected for him. But his thoughts kept shifting to Jesse, to his intense eyes and calming voice. He made a choice.

He ran. The guards couldn’t stop him. He made his way to the carriage outside, where Jesse’s body was packed to be later delivered home. He took hold of it, tried to drag it, and didn’t notice when the rest of the sack fell behind. All he noticed was how surprisingly soft Jesse’s hair was.

Hanzo stopped at a cliff. The mountain the castle was built atop was full of big drops and sharp boulders. The only way out was down.

“I’m sorry, Jesse.”

He clutched at the decapitated head. A song from better days rang in his head. It matched the beat of the men chasing behind. Hanzo closed his eyes, made a silent prayer to whoever was listening.

And then jumped.


	4. Epilogue: Love like Kaleidoscope

_ I held your head and ran for the edge _

_ The edge of the world, down I go _

_ If I was born in a different body, will our lives be easy _

_ If we get a next life I hope we're not human at all _

Many years after his brother’s death, there was a thunderstorm. Genji, now heir to the kingdom, watched from the balcony of his room. 

The transition was a rough one, everyone forcing down their expectations on Genji. But the man stood against their demands, and the voices eventually quieted down. The king was proud of him. His brother had never had any of that, Genji knew, and regretted not doing anything about it when he still had the chance.

From that day onward, rumors of a powerful deity on the mountain where the old castle had once stood, sprouted on the streets. It wasn't until Genji was king, and his hair had started to gray, that he saw the truth in them.

A dragon paid him a visit. It had blue shimmering scales, a dark mane, and golden antlers. His eyes were very familiar.

"Hanzo." Genji said out loud, and got no reaction from the creature. "Are you the mountain god my people are talking about?"

The dragon stood taller. "I am." He replied.

Genji bowed."May I know your name?"

"I wasn't given any. I was hoping to get one, along with your permission to stay in your kingdom."

"You may stay for as long as you desire, oh great dragon." Genji smiled, a bit too genuine. "As for the name, how does Hanzo sound?"

The dragon turned his head at an angle, stretched his long body.

"I like it." He finally said. "What meaning does it hold to you?"

"It's just the name of a late friend of mine, someone I hold dear."

Hanzo the dragon nodded. He didn't stay long enough for any banquets in his honor, to the court's disappointment, but Genji knew that wouldn't be the last time they'd meet.

Another dragon flew into the kingdom weeks later. This one had crimson scales, a stout, muscular body, and two powerful wings on his back. A western dragon. Very unusual a sight.

This dragon found his home in the park at the foot of the mountain. He didn't scare away the garden keepers, and instead spent most of his day by the hydrangea bushes, waiting for something, or someone.

Hanzo decided to descend to the village and meet this newcomer dragon. He followed some sorrowful singing through a path of hydrangeas, to a stone bench he'd never seen before.

There, the dragon was singing, about love lost and the hope of finding it again. The way the creature moved, and the timbre of his voice were all too familiar to Hanzo. Then, those wild eyes met his, and he instantly knew. He knew that his wish had come true.

_ Hydrangeas are calling my name _

_ Bring me to a garden I've never seen _

_ There I saw your veiny wings _

_ Filled me with feeling so familiar _

_ Cover me with your scales _

_ Our love is like kaleidoscope _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for making it to the end!  
I hope it wasn't too angsty and you enjoyed!
> 
> Feel free to give me any feedback, point out any grammar atrocity (English is not my native language), or just scream at me in the comments!  
Also feel free to stalk me on twitter at @LesbianIvara (I mostly retweet memes and post pics of my cats though, be warned)


End file.
